Voices of Orlando Seale, Samantha Barks, Harry Sadeghi, and Stephane Cornicard
Directed by Stephane Berla and Mathias Malzeiu
Music and Lyrics by Dionysos
For the second Valentine's Day in a row, we head to France for an unusual romantic tale. This one takes us away from Paris and across a frozen Europe, from Scotland to Spain, for the gothic love story of a boy with a mechanical heart who learns about love from his childhood sweetheart and an early film pioneer. Let's start on the coldest day ever in Edinburgh, Scotland, as a woman searches for someone to help with her impending birth, and find out...
The Story: Jack (Seale) was born with a frozen heart. Madeleine, the midwife who brought him into the world (Barbara Scaff), gives him a cuckoo clock in place of a heart. It doesn't always work the best, and it makes him fragile. Madeleine insists he must never play with the hands of the clock, become angry, or fall in love. If he does, the clock will break, and he will die.
As he grows older, Jack insists on going into town and school. He encounters lovely Miss Acacia (Barks) in town and has an instant rapport with her. He doesn't get along nearly as well with school bully Joe (Sadeghi), who torments him for four years. After he believes his cuckoo clock has killed Joe, Madeleine helps him flee to mainland Europe. On the train, he encounters pioneering filmmaker Georges Melies (Cornicard), who repairs his cuckoo heart and helps him find Miss Acacia at the circus. She and Jack are ready to run off together, until the last person they expected to see turns up...and Jack finds his feelings and his fragile heart pushed to their limits.
The Animation: Somewhat similar to the Tim Burton-produced Corpse Bride, which also revolved around a surreal Victorian fantasy. This animation is more delicate than Burton's slightly more upbeat tale; even characters who are supposedly strong (like Joe and Melies) appear wispy and so ghostly white, they're nearly the same color as the snow in the opening and closing. The details are incredible, from the two-headed winged woman Melies falls for at the circus to the puppet show Jack puts on to remind Miss Acacia of their childhood romance.
The Song and Dance: A truly unique romantic fantasy with an oddly sweet love story at its core. For all the tragedy, you can't help but wish the best for these two delicate youths who only want to be together. Cornicard makes a charming Melies, who encourages their romance and lends his pioneering mechanical abilities and creative mind to helping the two find one another. The English dub I watched is actually pulled off pretty well, with a decent script and mostly good cast.
Favorite Number: The opening title song introduces us to Jack and his unusual "family," including Madeleine and her odd friends with their spines they can play and skimpy outfits. "Madeleine's Rap" explains her rules and why she so badly wanted to help Jack."Flame With Glasses" introduces Jack to Miss Acacia as they play an organ grinder's instrument in town together and fall in love at first sight. "Joe's Song" introduces his bullying character, as he describes how he ruled the playground with an iron fist and couldn't stand how fragile Jack was. Miss Acacia is "My Lady Key" in her second solo.
Trivia: Based on the book The Boy With the Cuckoo Clock Heart and the concept album by Dionysos.
What I Don't Like: This tragic tale is really dark...maybe darker than it should be. I think they could have kept the happy ending from the book where Madeleine is able to fix his heart and been fine. The ending is less of an ending and more "we didn't know where to go with this, but wanted to keep it gothic, so here it is." The story and strange, wispy style is way too dark for younger kids, and some older ones who aren't into fantasy may be confused as well. Jack himself isn't that well-defined beyond his mechanical heart, either. He's supposed to be controlling his emotions, but he comes off as a little bland.
The Big Finale: Truly unique and ethereal steampunk romance for pre-teens, fans of Burton's stop-motion films, and those who are looking for something different in their tragic love stories.
Home Media: Easily found on both sides of the Atlantic; cheap on disc and free on many streaming companies, including Tubi and Peacock.
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